Southern California cities are preparing for a pair of storms headed for the Los Angeles area this week.
Watchara Phomicinda — Staff photographer

LOS ANGELES >> Two major storms headed for the Los Angeles area are expected to bring lots of rain, snow and high winds in the mountains, high surf, possible coastal flooding in low lying areas, and bad driving conditions.

Snowfall during the first storm will generally be above 8,000 feet. However, during the second storm snow levels will drop to the 6,000- to 7,000-foot range with 1 to 3 feet of snow at the ski resort levels.

“We’re jumping up and down,” said Ron Ellingson, president of Mt. Baldy Ski Lifts Inc. “We’re calling it the March miracle.

“We’re hoping we have a good week,” he said. “We get 3 feet, we’ll open the whole mountain.”

He said the ski resort has been closed for three weeks and never fully opened this season due to lack of snowfall and not having snow-making on all of its runs,

Chris Riddle, vice president of marketing for Big Bear Mountain Resorts, said the snow forecast reminds him of the 1991 season. Big Bear has been open because it has a water source and snow-making on most of its trails.

In 1991, he said there was very little snow until March, and then it started snowing regularly, and the resort stayed open into May.

“We called it the March miracle,” he said.

There was such a pent-up demand for skiing that a record for attendance was set at the time.

A spokesperson for Mountain High ski resort in Wrightwood could not be reached. A telephone message for the resort said the area was closed Wednesday, but will be open for skiing beginning Saturday morning.

The U.S. Forest Service issued an alert for residents planning to visit the mountain resorts to take advantage of the new snow.

Caltrans said snow in the San Bernardino mountains could fall to the 4,000-foot level, and chains will be required on mountain roads.

High winds are expected in the mountains, which will produce blowing snow and reduced visibility, said Ryan Kittell, a forecaster with the National Weather Service, Los Angeles.

“We’re also expecting wind gusts up to 60 mph,” he said. “Not only do you have a lot of snow, a lot of ice on the roadways, but you might have very bad visibility. So overall, just bad conditions and a bad time to be up in the mountains.”

But while people in the mountain ski resorts were celebrating Wednesday, owners of homes in the Glendora and Azusa foothills were preparing for possible mud and debris flows.

The areas below the approximately 2,000 acres scorched by Colby Fire in mid-January will be at risk for mud and debris flows, according to Kittell.

“The communities just down off the mountain from (the burn area) are really going to get impacted by this rain because we’re expecting a lot of mud and debris from the burn areas,” Kittell said in a telephone interview Wednesday.

Crews from the county emergency services have been contacting homeowners about the threat, and county and Caltrans crews have been installing concrete barriers to divert debris and falling rocks.

Residents have been preparing for at least a week, and sandbags have been distributed in high-risk areas, according to Glendora City Manager Chris Jeffers.

The fringe of the first storm began moving into the area Wednesday afternoon with light showers throughout the area, Kittell said. The bulk of the rain from the first storm is expected late Wednesday and Thursday morning. Half an inch to an inch of rain is expected in the coastal and valley areas during the first storm,

Most of Thursday should see clear skies with scattered clouds.

Heavy to moderate rain is expected late Thursday and throughout Friday and into Saturday, Kittell said. The second storm is expected to bring 1 to 3 inches of rain, with some areas in the foothills and mountains possibly getting up to 6 inches, he said.

High surf is expected along the coast, Kittell said.

“We’ll probably see surf in excess of 10 feet,” he said.

There also may be some localized coastal flooding in low-lying areas, in some harbors and in areas such as Belmont Shores, Kittell said.

Most of the major roadways won’t be impacted, Kittell said, and the passes in the Grapevine area and Cajon Pass shouldn’t be impacted by the snow.